Say Goodbye to Traditional Jobs

Jobs may be coming back, but they aren't the same ones workers were used to.

Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions.

In 2005, the government estimated that 31% of U.S. workers were already so-called contingent workers. Experts say that number could increase to 40% or more in the next 10 years. Experts say that full-time employees could become the minority of the nation's workforce within 20 to 30 years, leaving employees without traditional benefits such as health coverage, paid vacations and retirement plans, that most workers take for granted today.

Ajilon, a staffing firm, says about 90% of the positions Ajilon is helping clients fill right now are on a contract basis, quoting "employers are reluctant to bring on permanent employees too quickly.

Much of the change is due to employers' desire to limit their costs just as they did with retirement plans, in which employers moved away from the traditional pension plan toward defined contribution plans and pass more of the burden onto the employee.

Demographic factors are feeding the shift as well. Younger workers are more open to the idea of not tying themselves to a single employer. And as baby boomers reach the age when they are eligible for Medicare and not dependent upon their employer for health insurance, many are more open to contract work.

Health care reform legislation passed earlier this year, which will create a mandate for employers to provide health benefits for employees but not contractors, will also feed the trend.

Freelancers Union, an advocacy group for freelancers and independent contractors, said that employment laws and protections have been slow to recognize the shift. For example, independent contractors aren't eligible for unemployment benefits. And they have to pay both the employee and the employer match on their Social Security taxes.